Nintendo

Almost to the finish line!

28. Favorite Game Developer

These are the top three companies that have given me the most enjoyment from games. Square Enix for Final Fantasy of course, but even non FF Square Enix games are usually amazing. Nintendo mainly for Zelda, but also Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. both of which have provided hours of fantastic entertainment for me and my friends. Ubisoft just puts out some really great games – the Assassin’s Creed series, Beyond Good and Evil, the Splinter Cell games, the original Prince of Persia. All great fun, and all games I’ve really liked.

29. A Game I Thought I Wouldn’t Like, But Ended Up Loving

Definitely the original Halo. I remember walking into my brother’s room one day and sitting down to watch him play on his behemoth of an X-Box thinking, This game is so DUMB! Who cares about just shooting aliens?! And then I played it, from the beginning, with my dad. And I fell in love with it. And not because you shoot aliens, but because it had a great story. I fell in love with Master Chief and Cortana’s relationship, with 343 Guilty Spark’s snide comments and wit. It gave life to what is essentially a game where you just shoot aliens. In fact, it’s still one of the only first person shooters I enjoy. Pretty much all the others I’ve tried I end of finding incredibly boring and repetitive. They exist just for people to shoot things (I’m looking at you, Call of Duty). And that just isn’t enough for me.

I’m using the questions from the Video Game Blog Challenge found here. All screenshots/photos you see are found via a basic Google image search. Copyrighted to their respective owners.

Back with more gaming fun!

10. Best Gameplay

I find this to be a ridiculously hard question to answer as I really can’t see how you compare the gameplay of an FPS to an RPG. Apples and oranges here, people! So, with that in mind, I’ve broken it down into a few categories

First Person Shooter (FPS)

The Halo trilogy. Now, I haven’t played too many FPSes, but these games were yet another defining gamer moment for me. Playing the original Halo, couch co-op with my dad, was amazing. The experience, how in it you felt. But focusing on gameplay, I really didn’t find any flaws. Targeting was easy, you could change your button layout to what you were comfy with, they had the option for inverted y-axis (the ONLY way to play in my opinion) and it was smooth sailing.

Role Playing Game (RPG)

This game has already come up a lot (and will continue to) but I have to go with Final Fantasy VII. Seriously, the materia system in this game has yet to be topped in my opinion. It was perfect. How materia equipped to weapons, how it leveled, how you could equip any kind to any party member – it was just brilliant. I have never found a battle/magic system that measures up to it. As for other gameplay, it was on par with other FF games – great open world exploration, easy navigation, nothing that stands out as bad.

FPS/RPG Combo

The Borderlands games. Especially Borderlands 2. A brilliant combo of excellent FPS battle, open(ish) world exploration, and RPG elements with leveling your character. I loved picking and equipping skills, changing out guns and their stats – add in a customizable element and I’m happy. However, Borderlands 2 was definitely more shooter than RPG.

On the opposite end, Fallout 3 was amazing too. SO many customizable RPG elements, from leveling to dialogue. The shooter aspect of the game was definitely secondary, but well done nonetheless. The V.A.T.S. system provided quite the amount of fun.

And, with less explanation:

Tactics RPG – Fire Emblem series

Stealth/FPS – The Last of Us

Adventure – Beyond Good and Evil

11. Gaming System of Choice

At this point in my life, it would have to be my Nintendo 3DS XL. It perfectly suits my lifestyle. A small part of me wishes I could still be a semi-hardcore gamer, buying the latest systems and games, then binge playing them from start to finish. But that’s just not gonna happen! When my daughter was little, I still managed to fit in console game time. But ever since she was old enough to actually pay attention and comprehend what was happening on the TV, console gaming has taken a mostly permanent backseat. There are very few games I play that I would consider appropriate for her to be viewing. Then there’s the lack of time. True, I COULD spend every free second gaming, but at this point in my life, I don’t want to! I love other things too much. So my 3DS is perfect, as I can pop it out, play for a bit, and then just tuck it away in a jiffy.

Of course I have the Zelda 3DS!

As for consoles I want, I think I’d actually pick a WiiU over a PS4. It has way more games that will be appropriate for my daughter in the coming years, plus ZELDA!!! I would honestly buy any new Nintendo system just to play the new Legend of Zelda game that comes out. I may have ~~a bit of~~ an obsession. I’m okay with it.

I’m using the questions from the Video Game Blog Challenge found here. All screenshots/photos you see are found via a basic Google image search. Copyrighted to their respective owners.